Connecticut Democrats

Beatrice D. Zionts, co-owner of the former Designers Warehouse in Waterford and former member of the Caucus of Connecticut Democrats, died Thursday at her home in Waterford. She was 74 and died of pancreatic cancer, her family said. In the 1970s, Mrs. Zionts co- owned Designers Warehouse with a high school friend. The business discounted designer women's clothing. She was a former member of the Family Service Association Inc. board of directors and Waterford Citizens for Responsible Government.

In response to the letter writers and commenters saying they are going to leave Connecticut, please vote before you leave. Leaving Connecticut to avoid its tax polices is only part of a solution. I am a Connecticut resident who has lived in several states and traveled enough to know that Connecticut is not the only paradise in America. Connecticut is just one of the more expensive ones. Connecticut still sends tax-and-spend representatives to Congress who can get at your dollars anywhere that you live.

The Caucus of Connecticut Democrats endorsed Bill Bradley for president in a nominating convention at the Old State House in Hartford Saturday. Bradley was favored by 64 percent of about 80 caucus members, according to John Kardaras, executive vice chairman. Former state Rep. Joseph Courtney, a member of Bradley's steering committee in the state, accepted the endorsement on his candidate's behalf. Kardaras said Bradley was selected over Vice President Al Gore because Bradley better reflects the caucus's core issues such as child poverty, health care and finance reform.

When Jonathan Pelto went on WNPR for a pre-campaign interview this spring, call-in reactions were hostile in the extreme, from people who are clearly Democratic party loyalists. This degree of hostility has continued on social media and in print as Democrats have steadily reviled him as a Nader-esque spoiler. I haven't seen any evidence of Joe Visconti facing this degree of hostility from Republicans. Given Connecticut's overwhelming political blue-ness, my guess is that a sizable number of individuals tasked with locally certifying Pelto's voter petitions are loyal Democrats.

A labor dispute last year at the Connecticut Convention Center and its neighboring Marriott hotel forced some meeting planners to take their business elsewhere. These three events were among those that canceled business at the Convention Center: United Church of Christ, general synod, June 2007. Connecticut Democrats, 2006 state party convention, May 2006. Connecticut Valley Girl Scout Council, Woman of Merit corporate fundraiser, June 2006.

President Clinton directed the government Wednesday to release $45 million in emergency heating assistance to low-income people in Connecticut and 10 other states. Connecticut's share will be $3.1 million, the White House said, enough to help about 156,000 households in the state. The money is targeted at states that have been hardest hit by increases in home heating fuel prices and are currently experiencing severe weather. Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman, both Connecticut Democrats, joined in thanking Clinton and saying the emergency aid is necessary and vital.

Only three hours after Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he was running for the U.S. Senate, Connecticut Democrats were already raising money for him. This is an indication that the party is quickly getting behind only one candidate and trying to clear out the field for Blumenthal. "Please make a contribution today to support these efforts," the party's message says, in part. "The Republicans are planning an all out assault in Connecticut and will stop at nothing to win."

Two powerhouses, one in national politics and the other in comedy, will headline the state Democrats' annual dinner next month. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will be the keynote speaker for the party's Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner on May 28, the party announced on Tuesday. Comedian Chevy Chase of film and "Saturday Night Live" fame has agreed to be the master of ceremonies. A Democrat, Chase has appeared for Democratic candidates throughout the country. Last year, Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, was the keynote speaker at the same dinner.

Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman, both Connecticut Democrats, supported the new civil rights legislation. "Congress has a sacred duty and responsibility to ensure that the rights of all Americans are protected and that equality and opportunity remain steadfast in our law," Dodd said Wednesday. "It's sad indeed to see the Supreme Court in recent years seemingly bent on dismantling the nation's commitment to civil rights," he added. Lieberman said: "This is a bill just to protect people from being treated unfairly by their employers.

In response to the letter writers and commenters saying they are going to leave Connecticut, please vote before you leave. Leaving Connecticut to avoid its tax polices is only part of a solution. I am a Connecticut resident who has lived in several states and traveled enough to know that Connecticut is not the only paradise in America. Connecticut is just one of the more expensive ones. Connecticut still sends tax-and-spend representatives to Congress who can get at your dollars anywhere that you live.

Plenty of Connecticut Democrats are upset that former state legislator Jonathan Pelto is seeking a spot on the gubernatorial ballot to challenge Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. But few have gone as far as U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven, who says flatlly that Pelto should get out of the race. "He should not be running for governor," DeLauro, 71, told The Courant earlier this week. "Jonathan Pelto is a very smart young man. We've worked together over many years. But this is not his moment.

By BRIAN DOWLING, bdowling@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, June 30, 2014

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday to exempt family-owned corporations from mandated contraceptive coverage raised a big question for Connecticut that elicited the same answer. We are looking into that. The question is: If federal law exempts small, closely held corporations from providing contraceptive coverage because of the religious beliefs of their owners, must also Connecticut? The Office of the Attorney General, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office and the Connecticut Insurance Department, all reached hours after the Supreme Court sided with Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties, said they were still reviewing the decision and teasing out its implications for state law, which still requires contraceptive coverage.

By DANIELA ALTIMARI dnaltimari@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, February 2, 2014

In recent years, Connecticut lawmakers have pursued groundbreaking public policy initiatives, such as repealing the death penalty, placing controversial new restrictions on gun owners and enacting the nation's first law mandating paid sick days. But this year, with an abbreviated legislative calendar and the specter of gubernatorial politics hanging over the session, lawmakers are showing little appetite for the type of hot-button issues they have embraced in the past. Click on the links below to learn more about some of the major issues facing Connecticut legislators when the General Assembly convenes on Feb. 5. > > Issue: Aid In Dying > > Issue: Budget Surplus > > Issue: College Sexual Assault > > Issue: Early Childhood Education > > Issue: Juvenile Sentencing > > Issue: License Plate Readers > > Issue: Mental Health > > Issue: Puppy Mills > > Issue: Victim Privacy And The Public's Right To Know > > Issue: Video Gambling Democrats, who hold majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, say they will focus on jobs, the economy and consumer issues that directly impact the citizens of the state.

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, ckeating@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, January 14, 2014

For years, Connecticut has been criticized as a state that is not friendly to business, passing anti-business bills and increasing corporate taxes as part of the largest tax hike in state history in 2011. But now, Democrats say they will try to change the long-held attitude by increasing worker training with state subsidies, cutting red tape, cleaning up more contaminated industrial sites, improving the deep-water ports on Long Island Sound, and expanding enterprise zones. They joined together Tuesday at the state Capitol for a press conference to announce the new push in advance of the legislative session that starts on Feb. 5. Tuesday's proposal did not include a pricetag for the initiatives.

By DANIELA ALTIMARI, dnaltimari@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, January 3, 2014

Amid a growing national conversation about income inequality, Democrats in Connecticut and throughout the nation have seized upon the minimum wage as a wedge issue in advance of the November elections. President Barack Obama is among those backing a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, while a Connecticut lawmaker would like to see a $15 hourly wage for workers supporting a family. "I would eventually like to see us get up to a living wage ... that would allow people to provide ... for their families," said Sen. Cathy Osten, a Democrat from Sprague who is co-chairwoman of the legislature's labor committee.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state Democratic Party have said as little as possible about Malloy's weekend fundraising trip to California Oct. 18-20, despite demands by the Senate Republican leader for details after a politician's tweet suggested the governor met with a state contractor out there. But Government Watch has pieced together a rough picture of what went on as Malloy panned for California gold for Connecticut Democrats and the Democratic Governors Association - a national group that can make independent campaign expenditures in all states to help Democrats.

State Rep. David B. Pudlin, D- New Britain, and one of his two challengers, Independence Party candidate Patrick J. Cloutier, have reported receiving several recent endorsements. Cloutier garnered the support of the National Rifle Association. In an Oct. 15 letter to Cloutier, an NRA official wrote that his "strong stand in defense of the rights of law- abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is admirable." Pudlin, in his fourth term in the legislature, was endorsed by the Caucus of Connecticut Democrats, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and several local, state and national labor unions.

"Tomorrow, Connecticut Democrats will come together, not so much as a party, but around a set of values. Connecticut deserves better than what it has had under 12 years of John Rowland and Jodi Rell." John DeStefano "In my life, in this race, in what I have done in my community in Stamford and what they have supported me in doing, I am, this night, a victor." Dan Malloy "He's nervous. You wouldn't be human if you hadn't been involved in the race for two years and weren't anxious at the end of it."

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE, vdelatorre@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, July 24, 2013

HARTFORD - Trude Johnson Mero, a no-nonsense matriarch of Hartford politics who mentored generations of Democrats at her kitchen table, died Tuesday of complications from diabetes. She was 85. Mero had been in declining health for years and usually bounced back, ready for another fight, relatives said Wednesday. "Loved the community and loved young people," said Sara Johnson-Davis, one of Mero's five children. "We have basically shared our mother with the community all our lives.